The first trailer for ‘Mowgli’ offers a darker take on The Jungle Book

The first trailer for Mowgli has been released, and it’s offering one of the darkest takes yet on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale.

For the first time, we see the story of Mowgli’s years before meeting loveable Baloo – and it couldn’t be any more different from Disney’s imagining of Kipling.

Instead, this imagining sees Mowgli mounting a desperate escape to attempt from apparent captivity, before it’s followed by a terrifying meeting with fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

“My, my,” Khan threateningly tells Mowgli.

“How you’ve grown.”

The darker origins tale is directed by Andy Serkis, and he’s used his pioneering motion-capture technology for the film – allowing the animals to be portrayed by an impressive cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris and Christian Bale.

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Along with the trailer, a behind-the-scenes featurette sees Serkis outlining his creative vision for the film.

“”It’s not so much a child’s fairytale,” he explained.

“This has a reality to it. There is real consequence. This is definitely drawn from Kipling and has a much darker approach to the storytelling – there’s no singing or dancing by the animals, that’s for sure.”